Unigo trailer under braking

[aSTerix]

I read a while back about a Unigo possibly being the cause of an ST crash under braking. Can't find the link though. I've been contemplating a monowheel trailer and like the look of the Unigo however I don't want to have it wrapped around me under heavy braking.

Was wondering if anyone has had worrying braking experiences with a Unigo or other monowheel trailer.

As an aside, is there a monowheel trailer which has brakes on it ?

 

[motomac]

I never had my Unigo try to pass me while braking hard. The only way I can think that that would happen is if you got the motorcycle sideways in an emergency situation.

 

[ST Gui]

It wouldn't surprise me that if there were any kind of an angle between the bike and any trailer without brakes - especially if loaded - that any firm braking might cause a problem.

 

[T_C]

It wouldn't surprise me that if there were any kind of an angle between the bike and any trailer without brakes - especially if loaded - that any firm braking might cause a problem.

The tire would have to be skidding sideways and with it behind the load it would require quite a bit of force. The tire is still mounted on an axle and wants to go straight, or turn if the bike is already leaning into the turn and the trailer tire is riding on it's reduced radius side.

 

[SMSW]

Were you to tow a two wheeled trailer, you could mount an engine in it, and in the event of a failure of your ST, swap ends on the bike and use the trailer to tow the bike home.

 

[Larry Fine]

I can envision a "push" on a curve. Let's say you're leaning right in a tight curve, which means the trailer is to the right of straight behind you. The momentum of the trailer could theoretically try to push the bike upright, reducing the lean.

However, is this really any different from a passenger's weight on the back of the bike? I would think that, as long as you're aware of the mass behind you and are ready to counter-steer in reaction, there should be no real increased risk.

 

[bdalameda]

I've ridden many miles with a Unigo trailer - I've never had any bad experience except having to push the bike backwards to get out of a tight parking situation. A real pain to maneuver the bike and trailer manually.

 

[Roger]

I can tell you that there is a significant difference between having a passenger and towing a trailer. If heavily loaded, the trailer really pushes when braking....

My trailer has two wheels, so I can always disconnect and push it separately to the bike, if in a tight corner.

 

[STumped]

I don't have a Unigio but I do have a Third Wheel trailer. It is similar to Unigo in that it is also a single wheel trailer. I have not had any issues in braking while towing it but I have not needed to do a panic stop while towing it. I suspect that it would increase my braking distance because of the extra weight but I don't think it would cause me to lose control of the bike.

As for having an angle between the trailer and the bike, that would only happen at low speeds like in a parking lot. Once underway, it tracks with the bike and, since it is a single wheel trailer, it leans with the bike as well so it stays inline with the bike. Strong crosswinds will blow the trailer around some and the result is a wig-wag feel to the back end of the bike. But I have only encountered that once.

 

[T_C]

I can envision a "push" on a curve. Let's say you're leaning right in a tight curve, which means the trailer is to the right of straight behind you. The momentum of the trailer could theoretically try to push the bike upright, reducing the lean.

However, is this really any different from a passenger's weight on the back of the bike? I would think that, as long as you're aware of the mass behind you and are ready to counter-steer in reaction, there should be no real increased risk.

Yes, different then a passenger. Passenger can (potentially) lean with you and they are also between the tires, or almost. A trailer has a bit more leverage to push the bike out of direction-of-travel alignment.

Come into a loop on a cloverleaf a little hot and stand on the brakes as you enter the corner and lean over with a heavy trailer. The trailer is still trying to go straight and take the back tire with it. BTDT... not again (I hope!) I forgot I was taking that exit and almost forgot to breathe afterwards.

 

[ST Gui]

As for having an angle between the trailer and the bike, that would only happen at low speeds like in a parking lot. Once underway, it tracks with the bike and, since it is a single wheel trailer, it leans with the bike as well so it is inline with the bike.

Ok that makes sense. Thanks.

 

[sirepair]

For me, Uni-go is too small for the $$.

I recall some posts about Uni-go causing a speed wobble that contributed to a crash. Bright-eyed Sue, iirc.

I've never had an issue braking with my home-built one. And I've purposely loaded it with probably 75-80 lbs of junk and practiced hard stops in a parking lot. My bike is not ABS so I wanted to try in a somewhat controlled environment. Wasn't very leaned over, felt "different" than w/o trailer but didn't feel like it was trying to push rear around.

I like that my hitch height is close to my rear axle height. CG is kept low.

 

[Larry Fine]

If nobody minds, a side question: when pulling a 2-wheeler, does a standard 1-7/8" ball allow the bike to lean unimpeded, or can an ST1100 lean enough that binding is a risk, and I should get a pivoting ball?

 

[T_C]

If nobody minds, a side question: when pulling a 2-wheeler, does a standard 1-7/8" ball allow the bike to lean unimpeded, or can an ST1100 lean enough that binding is a risk, and I should get a pivoting ball?

Not sure if an ST11 can lean more then a 13, but a standard ball let's me grind pegs.

If you do anything besides standard I would say a swivel, that pivot ball thing is a joke.

I do believe Karl thought his trailer was binding and he put on a swivel, afterwards he realized that it wasn't binding just the drag of towing a trailer. It was only a couple hundred for that particular lesson.

 

[Ron]

I've never towed a 2 wheel trailer with the bike. My buddy did with his 'Wing. I was following one time and watched the trailer bounce around. I asked if he was leaned over and the trailer hit a bump, kicking it up the opposite direction, how far could it go before the tongue ran out of travel? I don't know about swivel hitch balls so I would go for the swivel hitch.

 

[Al Gully]

I read a while back about a Unigo possibly being the cause of an ST crash under braking. Can't find the link though. I've been contemplating a monowheel trailer and like the look of the Unigo however I don't want to have it wrapped around me under heavy braking.
Was wondering if anyone has had worrying braking experiences with a Unigo

I have had my Unigo trailer for 10 years and haven't experience anything remotely on what you have heard or read.
Set up is key pulling a trailer, make sure everything is tight, you don't want any looseness anywhere.
Pick up one and enjoying pulling the nicest trailer ever made for touring. Wheel it into your hotel room and unpack is the nicest way to travel. Also, the wife gets to bring 1/2 the house when traveling.

 

[aSTerix]

I found the link, funny how the memory works, the Unigo is mentioned in the same thread but I don't think it was the actual trailer involved in the ST trailer accident

Here is the quoted text from the thread in the link above (with the name of the person X'd out by me)

Quote begins:
"I wonder if this includes "heresay" such as XXXXXXXX accident last year where he hammered the brakes on his ST and his trailer caused him to get into a fierce wreck with great bodily damage to himself and his wife? IMO, if you need to take a trailer on a motorcycle trip, you're taking too much ***** with you and you ought to be driving your mini-van instead. I'm sorry, but towing a trailer behind a bike is mostly just dangerous except for one or two few well-though-out exceptions like the uni-go."
"I rode a friend's ST pulling his Uni-Go and even that felt like it was trying to steer the back end on some corners. His front end was shaking badly too. I told him to upgrade the rear shock. I saw some pretty ridiculous rigs at the motorcycle show. Some are getting close to being as long as the bike. Yikes!"
Quote end

 

[T_C]

Someone on St-Riders net: "I rode a friend's ST pulling his Uni-Go and even that felt like it was trying to steer the back end on some corners. "

If you feel this you obviously forgot you were towing a trailer, moron! Slow it down!!

 

[aSTerix]

If you feel this you obviously forgot you were towing a trailer, moron! Slow it down!!

Technically it wasn't me who said this !!

I was just quoting from a message on a different forum . If you could amend your previous post to reflect that it wasn't me who said this , it would be greatly appreciated !!

If you would like to tell the original poster your opinion, the link will take you there !!

 

[ST Gui]

Technically it wasn't me who said this !!

T_C included the quotation marks in the quote so I'm sure it was a rhetorical comment addressing the actual rider and not you. But yeah you have a point.

As to "moron" and "slow it down" I'm with him 100%. This may or may not differ though – CA has a maxium speed of vehicles towing trailer – 55mph. This is probably the same or similar in other states. But it's routinely voilated. I've seen cars and truck pulling trailers at 70+. "She's steady as a rock" may or may not be accurate but most of these yayhoos don't seem to consider stopping distances.

TBT I've only seen two instances where the tail wagged the dog but one almost took out my mom when her car was on the side of the freeway. That was harrowing and really ticked me off. But underestimating stopping distances is much more common.

So when I see police earning they pay and my taxpaying dollars at work with a car/truck and trailer stopped and a tag being scratched – I choose to assume it's for speed and it gladdens my heart. 2